


Sick Leave 2

by SouthernChickie



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthernChickie/pseuds/SouthernChickie
Summary: Direct sequel to Sick Leave.  When Daniel comes down with the flu, Vala decides to return the kindness he showed her.
Relationships: Jackson/Vala
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Sick Leave 2

Daniel rolled over and tried to find a comfortable position. Everything ached and his head was pounding. Groggily, he tried to convince himself that he didn’t need to get up. A few deep breaths in, his stomach won and he stumbled to the bathroom. 

Mid-heave he became vaguely aware of a presence in his house. He was too preoccupied to worry about it much. The flu was making its third round at the base. Daniel had been lucky enough to avoid it the last two times but was unable to dodge it a third. 

When he was done, he rinsed his mouth and splashed cold water on his face. He could hear humming in his kitchen, mixed with the occasional clink from dishes. The voice sounded familiar, so he wasn’t very surprised when he found Vala was standing at his stove.

“Hello,” he greeted her, taking a seat at his kitchen table to mask his weak legs. 

Vala smiled at him over her shoulder as she stirred something in a pot. “How are you feeling?”

“When did you get here?” he evaded the question.

“Sam and I came to see how you were getting on a few hours ago.”

Daniel frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

“Sam had her key. You’ve been sleeping pretty hard.”

Too tired to read into the comment, Daniel shrugged it off. “What are you making?”

Vala smiled and added a handful of something to the pot. “You gave me the idea,” she said. “I’m making what my mother would make when I was ill.”

Daniel smiled back. “I’d say it smells great, but I have no idea.”

“When you can smell it, we’ll know it’s working.”

He nodded and rested his head in his hands. 

They didn’t talk as Vala chopped, added, and stirred. Every now and then she glanced over her shoulder at her patient. Daniel was watching her with sleepy eyes, smiling, vaguely. 

Vala had gotten Sam to help her research the ingredients for the broth. She wrote out the recipe, listing what the original ingredients did and how they were grown Sam used that information to come up with the Earth equivalents. On their way to Daniel’s, they stopped at the grocery store to gather what she needed.

“What’s that song?” Daniel asked suddenly. 

“Hum?” Vala concentrated on slicing the mushrooms as thinly as possible. 

“That song you’re humming,” he clarified. “I’ve heard you singing it before.”

“Really?” Vala felt a swell of heat rush up to her chest and face.

“It gets stuck in my head all the time.”

“It’s an old song the women in my village used to sing.”

“It’s pretty,” he told her.

Vala turned to face him, but as soon as she made eye contact he lowered his gaze and looked away. Once he regained his composure, he looked up again.

“You didn’t have to come over,” he changed the subject.

“I wanted to,” she turned back to the task at hand, the moment over. “You took care of everyone else. Someone has to take care of you.”

As the flu made its way through the SGC, it made its way through SG-1. While they were all more than willing to look after each other, Daniel had been the one to lead the charge, picking up prescriptions, showing up with soup, and Ginger Ale, calling to check-in. Mitchell called him a Papa Bear, but Vala wasn’t sure what that meant. The only connection she could make was his protective instincts and the sound he made when he slept. 

They settled again into a comfortable silence until Vala deemed her soup ready. She ladled it into a bowl and delivered it to her patient. He tried to catch a whiff, breathing in deeply, snorting a bit making himself cough.

“Sorry,” he mumbled once he regained his composure.

“Charming,” she teased him.

“I’d say it smells good, but I’m afraid to try again…” he made the same bad joke a second time. Vala indulged him and didn’t point it out. After all, the poor man didn’t feel well. She had been in his position not long ago and knew what it was like to be stricken with the wretched illness.

“Probably for the best. Its smell is not what you would call… anything positive.”

“Now I’m excited,” he chuckled, picking up the spoon. 

Vala watched anxiously as he tried her concoction. Several bites in, he caught her watching and smiled at her.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she assured him.

“Okay…” he awkwardly looked away and stared at the table.

Vala smiled to herself and watched him as he ate. Even watching him from the back she could tell he was lost in thought, his shoulders were relaxed and his head tilted to the side. After a few minutes, his eating slowed- then stopped. She knew what was coming next. He was seconds away from a breakthrough. Whatever it was he was thinking about was getting ready to click into place.  
Suddenly, he jerked in his chair, succumbing to another coughing fit. Instinctually, Vala gently rubbed his back, smoothing out a circular pattern in his wrinkled t-shirt. She could feel the fever radiating off of him through the fabric. 

“Are you all done?” she once his breathing was steady again.  
“Ummm,” he sighed, closing his eyes.

“Have you been taking the tablets Dr. Lam gave you?” she asked, taking his dishes.

He opened his eyes and started glancing around. He got up and disappeared into the bathroom. He wasn’t even gone for a minute when he returned with a shy grin. “Yes.”

“You’re worse than Mitchell,” she chided him, turning to the kitchen to start cleaning up.

He just smiled at her and followed her into the kitchen, sliding up on the counter to watch her.

“Thanks for coming,” he said after a pause. 

“You took care of me, its only fair I take care of you.”

He didn’t answer and looked down at his bare feet swinging in the air. He didn’t look up again until Vala was standing next to him- putting dirty dishes in the sink. 

“You can leave it, I’ll do it later,” he told her. 

“I’ll do it,” she insisted. “Why don’t you go take a shower.”

Instinctively, Daniel sniffed his shirt. “That bad?”

“You’ll feel better.” She put a hand on his cheek to check his fever.

Their eyes met. Vala tucked her chin a bit, looking up at him through her eyelashes. Daniel smirked, leaning toward her. As space closed between them her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck pulling him closer. His breath was warm, tinged with the scent of the soup she made him. 

Vala closed her eyes.

Her heart pounded in her chest. 

Suddenly, Daniel pulled away, sliding off the counter and taking a few steps, coughing. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, almost groaning. 

Vala smiled reassuringly at him. “We can always try again later.” 

“I’m… I’ll just go take that shower.” Daniel disappeared quickly, nearly slamming the door in his haste to get away from the situation. 

Vala sighed. She had to admit, it was the furthest they’d ever gotten. She’d get him there. She was finishing the dishes when he reemerged, clean and dressed, but not shaved.   
“I told you I’d take care of it,” he said, watching her.

“I don’t mind.” Vala put the towel down after drying her hands. She walked past him, running her fingers lightly across his chest, enticing him to follow her to the living room.  
As she settled on the couch, he tentatively took a seat on the other side. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Better after your soup.”

“Can’t say you look it.”

“I still have a headache,” he admitted, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. “It’ll pass.”

“Come here.” Vala pat her lap. “I can help with that, too.”

He hesitated, and she gestured again. Finally, after a bit of coaxing, he shifted his weight, laying on the couch with his head in her lap. Vala began to gently rub his scalp, sliding her fingers through his hair, already dry from his shower. 

“How’s your book?” she asked.

“Hum?” his eyes had drifted closed.

“The one you wrote about your parents.” 

“Oh, its, uh, at the editor’s.”

“When will you tell the others about it?”

“Eh, they won’t care. It’s no big deal. The only people who will read it are college students who are forced to by their professors.”

“I thought it was quite good, myself.”

He smiled despite himself, but still tried to feign indifference. 

“I did what you suggested,” she continued as she rubbed his temples. “I’ve been writing about my mother.”

He opened his eyes and grinned at her. “You have?”

“Mum-hum,” she met his gaze. “Maybe someday I’ll let you read it.”

He closed his eyes again, as her fingers rubbed out a particularly tender spot. “Tell me about her.”

“What would you like to know?”

“Start at the beginning.”

“The beginning, eh?” 

“The beginning.” He shifted his weight a bit, settling in.

“Well,” Vala gathered her thoughts. “Nearly sixty cycles before I was born, my mother was learning all she could from a wise woman who lived on the other side of the land. Very far away from where she met my father. And even further away from the village where she raised me. The woman, Agath, taught my mother about what herbs and plants can be used for. They made potions, balms, and pumices that could clean or heal anything. People from all around for help and counsel. My mother told me that Agath could …” she trailed off when Daniel snored lightly.

“Didn’t know it would bore you,” she whispered.

She sat contentedly, still lightly massaging his scalp as he slept. She hummed the song again, allowing herself to get comfortable. She liked it here in Daniel’s house. The first time she’d visited was when she was ill with the flu he had now. Daniel had taken care of her, fussing with blankets and pillows to make sure she was comfortable, fetching medicine, and making soup and tea.

She had bought what was needed to make the tea, his mother’s recipe, when she was at the store getting ingredients for her broth. Part of her wanted to prepare it, so there was a hot cup waiting for him when he woke up, but he seemed so peaceful sleeping on the couch she didn’t want to disturb him. 

“You stopped,” he said softly, stretching, but not getting up.

“You fell asleep.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You’ve developed the habit of snoring when you’re awake, then?”

Daniel yawned but didn’t argue. “Keep going,” he prodded. “Your mom was a healer.”

“My mother was learning the healing arts,” she corrected him. “Such as your soup today. Roots, flowers, most things found in nature on our planet could be used by skilled practitioners to heal.”

“Can I have a copy of this when you’re done writing it?” Daniel interrupted her.

“If you’d stop talking and stop snoring, I could just tell you.”

“But what if I want to read it and you’re not here?”

“Why would you want to?” Vala looked down at him, still laying in her lap.

He looked up at her and smiled, shrugging. “I think it’s going to be a good story.”

“You do?”

“Interesting topic.”

“My mother?”

“You.” He smiled again.

Impulsively, before he could cough, pull away, or start thinking and ruining the moment, Vala leaned down and kissed him. He kissed back, his hand reaching up and caressing her hair. Chills ran down her back as his hand brushed her cheek, tucking hair behind her ear. 

“Are you even going to remember this?” she asked when the broke apart.

“Just promise you’re not doing this to make fun of me.”

“If I ever want to make fun of you, I’ll do it to your face.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think that’s much better.”

She smiled down at him then kissed him again. “I do it because I like you and teasing is the only thing you respond to… like a little boy…until now…” she explained between kisses.

“How about some tea?” He asked, sitting up. 

Vala sighed, knowing he’d started thinking too much taking himself out of the moment. “Lovely.”

Daniel got up and headed for the kitchen. He stopped when he saw the little mint plant that had not been there when he’d gone to bed the day before. 

“Is it the wrong kind?” Vala asked coming up behind him. “There were so many kinds, the man at the store said this one would be best for tea.”

“It’s perfect,” he said grinning. “I’m just surprised you remember.”

“It seemed important to you when you told me about it.” She pulled him away from the kitchen. “I’ll make the tea. You rest.”

He didn’t go back to the couch like she expected him to but sat back at his place at the kitchen table to watch her. Vala moved around his kitchen easily, because it was small, and she’d already opened all the cabinets while she was making the soup. Every now and again she’d glance over at him in case she did something wrong. Mostly he smiled at her, watching her work. When she started muddling the mint, his smile disappeared.

“Am I doing this right?” she asked.

“I’m not very good at this,” he told her.

“At making tea? I thought it was quite well last time.”

“No. This.” He gestured at himself, then her. “Me and… me and anyone.”

She nodded carefully, then went back to concentrating on the task at hand. “I’m patient.”

“The only two women I’ve ever had a serious relationship with were taken over by Goa’uld,” Daniel reminded her.

“I’ve already done that part.” Vala shrugged it off. 

Daniel smiled, despite his worries. “I suppose you have.”

Vala went about steeping the leaves and adding honey to the waiting mugs. 

“I get caught up in my work. I forget other people are even around,” he tried again to warn her off.

“I work with you and, as I’ve been told, I am quite hard to forget,” she countered, turning around for emphasis. “Plus, I believe we promised each other we would work on not being so much like our fathers.”

Daniel sighed and leaned forward on his elbows on the table. “It doesn’t matter what I say, does it?”

Vala placed a mug of tea in front of him. “Not really, no.”

“You’ve been talking with Sam about me, haven’t you?” Daniel asked. On more than one occasion Sam had pestered him about his relationship with Vala, insisting he was refusing to admit he was in love with her.

“Of course. She and I talk about everything.”

“Should I even ask what you say about me?”

“That you’re stubborn, arrogant, oblivious…”

“I thought we were friends.”

“Kind, gentle, handsome, brave” she continued. “Just scared of being hurt again.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair. “That sounds like Sam.”

“Are we wrong?” Vala asked.

“It’s not that easy.”

“It never is. That’s why I can wait.”

“Why me?” he asked his mug of tea. “There’s an entire galaxy of men out there who aren’t a neurotic mess. Why would you pick me over them?”

Vala laughed, even though she knew that was what he was scared of. “How can you be so arrogant yet so full of doubt?”

He didn’t answer, or look at her.

“You’re the first person who expected more from me. You think I can be a good person. You challenge me. I like the challenge.”

“And what happens when I’m not a challenge anymore? I give in and you win? Then what?”

“You misunderstand. You’re not the challenge. The challenge is being who you think I am.”

Daniel looked up at her. 

“You expect me to be one of the good guys. You defended me to General Landry when I wanted to join SG-1. You trust me. That makes me what to be a better person.”

“You are a good person,” he said softly. 

Vala smiled brightly and leaned into his shoulder. “See?” she kissed his cheek. “That right there.” She pulled away before he could.

Daniel stared at the table and sighed. “Why don’t we get together sometime? Go get dinner.”

“A date?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

“Two co-workers having dinner,” he clarified. “Sam and I do it all the time. Just… hanging out.”

“Someone where nice? You look so handsome when you dress up.”

“Somewhere nice,” Daniel agreed. “I’ll pay.”

“You really aren’t very good at this.” Vala laughed again and was pleased to see he didn’t cringe or shut down. Instead, he laughed with her.

“I told you. I’m a neurotoxic mess and I’m really bad at relationships.”

“I thought we were just two co-workers hanging out?” she teased him.

“That is technically a kind of relationship.”

Vala shook her head. It was progress. “I suppose we can explore that when you’re feeling better.”

“Now I have some incentive.”

Vala blushed as he made eye contact. It was like for the first time they were on the same page. There was electricity between them. It made her chest tighten and heat rise to her face. Tempted to look down, she maintained his gaze maintaining control of the situation.

“You should get some sleep, then.” She stood up. “Off you go. I’ll finish up here and see you soon.”

She could tell he wanted to argue but knew she was right. “You can leave it, I’ll clean up later.”

“Then I’ll just call Sam.”

She waited until he was in his room to dial. She did her best to sound calm while asking Sam to come to pick her up. They needed to go shopping. Vala had a date.


End file.
